STORMBOMB

Allegiance: Decepticons
Series: Fansproject
Year: 2011

Descending from outer space, Stormbomb was recovered and converted into his current form by the powerful Skycrow. Learning the ancient art of Ninjutsu and the philosophy of Godai, he has harnessed his power of control over the element "Wind". Creating havoc everywhere he goes, Stormbomb uses his ability to create flash storms and special elemental aerial attacks such as whirlwinds to over power his opponents. Like his brothers, he is stealthy and can attack when least expected to catch his enemies in his wrath before they can react.

Prelude: For legal reasons let me just state that this product here is not an official Transformers figure from Hasbro or Takara-Tomy, but rather a third-party product. It clearly pays homage to the G1 Insecticon Bombshell, but canít be called that for legal reasons. This is actually the third name for the figure, as Hasbro no longer has the trademark for the Bombshell name and has renamed both the Robot Hero and the Universe re-issue Hardshell. Stormbomb sounds better than Hardshell, I think, but thatís purely subjective, of course.

Robot Mode: Seeing as this toy is a homage, letís compare him to his predecessor first. G1 Bombshell was the biggest and broadest Insecticon (not counting the Deluxe Insecticons), so itís quite fitting that Stormbomb is a very big, broad robot himself. Heís not quite as stocky as Thundershred, but the resemblance to the G1 original is better. Head, general build, and colours are all a pretty good match, so no complaints on that front.

Homages aside, Stormbomb makes for a very stocky, nicely detailed, and superbly posable robot. The only slight limitations are due to the thickness of his limbs, otherwise he can move with the best of them. The head is on a ball joint, but due to its position between the two high collar pieces itís hard to actually get it to move.

Also posable is the Ďstingerí on his back, really the horn of his beetle mode. It can either lay almost flat against his back or be positioned to fire / sting over his head. The tip is comprised of two swords/knives, which Stormbomb can also hold in his hands. His other weapons are two scythes that can be stored behind his shoulders when he doesnít need them. The scythes can be connected by a weighted chain if you want, but personally I consider the chain a rather useless accessory.

Just about the only problem worth mentioning here is Stormbombís tendency to flash other bots when he moves his legs. His Ďskirtí is composed of three pieces and they ride up when he moves his legs forward. Itís needed for the transformation, but a bit of a bother in robot mode. Not a big thing, though, just wanted to mention it. The shoulder pieces have the same problem to a lesser degree, just be sure to move them back into place after moving the arms and youíll be fine.

Stormbombís robot mode, while a bit less massive than Thundershredís, is my favourite among the three Fansproject Insecticons. Stocky, powerful-looking, cool weapons, no flaws worth complaining about. What more do you want?

Alternate Mode: Just like Bombshell did in days of yore, Stormbomb transforms into a robotic rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes nasicornis for the Latin lovers among us). The transformation is far from complicated. You basically shorten the legs, tuck the arms on the back, and put a hood over his head. All done. His two scythes form the front legs of the bug, the swords become part of his Ďhorní once again. The only part leftover here is the chain, there is no place for it in this mode.

Not that much I can write here. Cool look aside, Stormbomb in beetle mode is basically a big square on six legs. The legs have some minor posability and the horn/stinger can move up and down, but thatís it. The front legs arenít the most stable in the world, as the scythes tend to slip out of their holdings. So bottom line: a cool-looking beetle mode, but little more than that.

Remarks: In the old G1 cartoon, Bombshell was possibly the scariest of the Insecticons, due to his ability to completely enslave others by use of his cerebro shells. These shells, shot from his beetle modeís horn, would burrow into another Transformerís brain and completely take him over. This kind of scared me as a kid, I must admit. Bombshell also played a large part in IDWís All Hail Megatron series, almost single-handedly bringing about Decepticon victory by finding a way to infiltrate Autobot data nets by way of the unfortunate human Headmaster Hunter OíNion.

Stormbomb, Bombshellís Fansproject incarnation, is to me the best of these 3rd party Insecticons. A great-looking robot mode, a somewhat simplistic but faithful alternate mode, and cool interchangeable weapons, too. Okay, the chain is pretty much superfluous, but apart from that, I like him a lot. Okay, heís still not as good as other stuff Fansproject has put out in the past, but then again he isnít supposed to combine with anything or enhance any existing figure, heís just a stand-alone homage to one of the classic G1 Decepticons. And thatís a job he does quite well.